Food grater



July 16, 1940. A. KURTZ FooD @RATER Filed March 29, 1959 2 Sheelas-Shee'tl l NvENToR i Hfwed Kur' 'm1/rrp Q' WITNESSES ATTORNEYS uly H6, w40.

A. KURTZ FOOD GRATER f Filed March 29, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 WITNESSES 1 INVE'TOR ,jzfwed )fu 7&5,

/ ATToRNEY Patented July 16, 1940 UNITEDA STATES ATENT OFFICE FOOD| y Alfred Kurtz,

Application March 29,

4 Claims.

This inventionrelates to food graters and has for an object to provide an improved construction wherein all of the grating members and associated parts are arranged in a housing or casing from which the grated material will not be scattered over the counter or floor.

Another object of the invention is to provide a grater which will grate cheese, stale bread, nuts, vegetables, or other articles of comparatively hard food.

An additional object of the invention is to provide an improved grater provided with a pair of grating drums, one Oie which acts as an impleh ment for grating the food and the other as an implement for trimming and cleaning the food preparatory to grating.

An additional and further object is to provide a grater which will not only grate cheese and other articles of food, but `which. presents a goring or trimming implement for removing the rind or other hard parts from cheese and other articles of food when located in depressions, grooves, or the like.

In the accompanying drawings- Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view through a grater disclosing an embodiment of. the invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of the grating drums shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective vView of one half of the drum shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a hand wheel and goring implement embodying certain features of the invention;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view through Fig. 1 approximately on the line 5-5;

Fig. 6 is a sectional View through Fig. 1 approximately on the line 66;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional View through Fig. 5 approximately on the line -'I.

Referring to the accompanying drawings by numerals, I indicates a base which may be wood or other suitable material, and 2 indicates a casing or housing which also may be of any suitable material, preferably metal, and secured to the base I in any .desired manner. As shown in Fig. 1, a motor 3 is provided which is illustrated as an electric motor and which is supported by a suitable support 4 mounted on base I and pref- 50 erably secured thereto by screws or other desired means. The motor 3 has shaft extensions 5 and 6 which are connected to the rotating part of the motor and, if desired, may be made in one piece.v The shaft extension 5 is rigidly secured 55 to the end l of a grating .drum 8, while the shaft GRATER Brooklyn, N. Y. y 1939, Serial No. 264,768

(Cl. 14S-177) Preferably the drum 8 is provided with a solid tubular body I I, which may be integral with end 'I or separate and rigidly secured thereto. 'I'he end il is solid throughout and connected to the body II in any desired Way whereby none of the material being grated can enter the interior of the drum. In this connection it will be seen from Fig. l that the ends of body II are covered by part of the walls 3l and 3l". If the walls' are made of thin material any suitable overlapping member may be'used, but if the walls are comparatively thick, as shown in Fig. l, the drum may at its respective ends extend into suitable cut-out portions and in this way prevent any of. the cheese or other food being grated wedging in between the ends of the drum and the side walls. `It will also be noted that a fibre or other stop 371'" is carried by wall 3l so as to prevent rattling of the drum against the respective walls 3l' and 3l".

On top of the tubular body II is mounted a grating member I2 held in place by friction, a set screw, or otherwise. The sleeve 9 carrying the gratmg drum I0 is provided with a pin I 3 which may be secured Vin place by friction or 'a set screw and on this pin the hub Ill is mounted. This hub is adapted to be secured to pin I3 by a suitable set screw and is adapted to carry a hand wheel I5 to which. is permanently connected a goring or trimming member I6. The implement or member IEis preferably a bladed structure rounded at the outer end and, as shown, there are four blades but if desired more or even less blades could be provided without departing from the spirit of the invention. When the member I6 is rotating it may be pressed against a depression Il in a cheese I8 for removing therind I9 therefrom. Other forms of depressions, grooves, or irregular places may have the rind removed by this implement. Whether the article of food is round or flat, the rind or hard covering may be removed by the grater as illustratedparticularly in Fig. 6.

In certain foods an outer coating or covering is usually present which is more or less objectionable and must be removed. In the case of hard cheese the outer coating or rind I9, as shown in Fig. 4, is objectionable to the taste and, therefore, is always removed ,before the cheese is grated. Grated cheese is used on macaroni and other food for seasoning and if the rind were grated along with the body of the cheese the flavor would be objectionable. By providing the implement I6 and the grating drum I0, this rind may be readily removed and then the block of cheese placed on the grater |2, which will grate the block of cheese and discharge the grated cheese downwardly into a drawer or other receptacle 20, as shown in Fig. 5.

As illustrated particularly in Fig. 6, the grater or grating drum IB is arranged in a housing or hopper 2| which has an opening 22 opposite a suitable opening 23 in the large housing or enclosure 2. Where the cheese or other article is rectangular in shape, as shown in Fig. 6, the same is placed on the grating drum i6 and pushed along until the rind has been removed. The rind as it is removed is thrown to the right, as shown in Fig. 6, and most of the rind passes down through the passageway 24 and is deflected by a deflecting plate 25 sc as to drop into a container or drawer 26. A support is provided for the cheese and this support is divided into parts 21 and 28 adjustably supported by screws 29 and 30 extending through suitable slots in the support. It will also be noted that the supports are provided with a number of openings 3| and 32. The drawer or container 26 fits in back of a short flange 33 and against a rubber bumper 34 carried at the back of the housing 2i. The bumper 34 causes the drawer 26 to press against the flange 33 and, therefore, to be held against rattling when the device is in use.

By performing the grating operation for removing the rind |9 in the housing 2 I, the grated rind is thrown to a point where it is caught in the container 26 and later disposed of. When the rind from a depression is removed, as illustrated in Fig. 4, it drops down on a deflecting member 36, as shown in Fig. 1, and gravitates into the drawer or container 26. After the cheese or other article has been properly cleaned, as shown in Fig. 6, it is placed in the auxiliary housing or hopper 31, as shown in Figs. 1 and'5. A feeder or feeding plate 38 rests on top of the article of food 39 so as to press the same against the grating drum A rod 40 is rigidly secured to the feeder 38 and is adapted to move the same upwardly and downwardly. This rod slidably extends through a cover`4| which acts as a closure for the hopper 31. It will be noted that the cover 4| is provided with an inner flange 42 snugly fitting within the hopper so as to provide a reasonably tight connection between the parts. An extension 43 acts as a handle at one point and another extension 44 carries a depending web 45 which is arranged adjacent the ear 46rigidly secured to hopper 31. A pin 41 acts as a pintle and, consequently, the cover 4| may be swung open and closed as desired provided the feeder 38 is near the top of the hopper. A spring 48 acts on an adjustable stop 49 to give the rod 40 a tendency to raise the feeder 38 to a position near the cover 4|. The upper end of rod 4|] has a bifurcated portion 5|) straddling a lever and pivotally connected therewith by a pin 52. One end of lever 5| is pivotally connected at 53 to a link 54, which in turn is pivotally mounted at 55 on the cover 4|. A handle or knob 56 is connected to the free end of lever 5| and is adapted to be grasped by' the hand of the operator and pressed downwardly when it is desired to grate the cheese 39. The feeder 36 is preferably slightly arc-shaped and is formed with an arc-shaped surface 51 adapted to be moved downwardly to near the grating drum when most of the cheese 39 has been grated. This will prevent small and large partsof the cheese 39 from passing around the drum to a discharge point.

As the cheese passes between surface 51 and the grating drum l0, it is grated to a large extent and where a comparatively large piece attempts to pass the hook plate or member 58 prevents such passage. This plate is provided with a body 59 welded, riveted, or otherwise rigidly secured to the hopper 31. When the cheese or other article of food is grated suciently ne, it will pass around with the drum on to the arc-shaped end 6|! of a discharge chute 6|, as shown in Fig. 5. The chute 6| is preferably tapered and is hingedly mounted at 62 and held in the position shown in Fig. 5 by a retractile spring 63 acting on a bracket 64 and a fixed post 65. A handle or lever 56 is secured to the chute 6| opposite bracket 64 and is adapted to strike against the edge 61 of hopper 31 while limiting the upward swinging movement of the chute.4 Whenever `desired the handle 66 could be depressed and the chute would swing on the hinge 62 against the action of spring 63. The top or end Gil is provided with a solid portion 68, as shown in Fig. "I, and a forarninous portion 69. The top can be divided approximately half and half, as shown in Fig. 7, or if desired a greater proportion may be used for the foraminous part without departing from the spirit of the invention. The grated material passes through the foraminous part 69 downwardly into the drawer or container 26. This drawer or container is provided with a handle 16 and a discharge door 1|. The drawer may be'pulled out of the device to the right, as shown in Fig. 5, and then by pressing against the extension 12 the door 1| will open whereby they cheese or other grated matter may be discharged into a bag or other desired receptacle.

In operation, the cheese is cleaned, as shown in Figs. 4 and 6, and is then placed in the hopper 31 after which the knob 56 is depressed and constant pressure maintained until the desired amount of cheese or other food has been grated. By releasing the knob 56, the spring 48 will immediately raise the feeder 38 and even though the motor 3 is rotating drum the grating operation will substantially cease.

If it is desired to permanently stop any actionl on the part of the device, thepower from motor 3 is turned off and then the grated material in ther drawer 26 may'all be discharged at one time or small portions from time to time as desired.

I claim:

1. A food grater including a grating drum,'

means for rotating said drum, and an adjustable support positioned adjacent said drum for supporting an article of food adjacent the drum, said support comprising a pair of foraminous plates positioned respectively on opposite sides of the* ing an arc-shaped top solid for part of its widthl and foraminous for part its width, said foraminous part being positioned at one side of a line drawn longitudinally through the center of said housing, said top having substantially the same,

arc as said drum and positioned to be near the lower part of the drum, a spring functioning to normally hold said chute in its functioning position, a finger engaging abutment for swinging the chute to an open position against the action of said spring, and' manually actuated means for forcing an article of food against said drum.

3. A food grater including a rotatable grating drum, power means for rotating 'said drum, a housing enclosing said drum, manually actuated means extending into said housing for forcing an article of food against said drum, and a plate fixed to the wall of the housing toward which the drum rotates, the lower end of said plate being at least as wide as said drum and being bent toward the circumference of the same and immediately adjacent to said circumference and above the axis of the drum to form a trough and prevent large pieces passing to the discharge point of the device.

4. A food grater including a rotatable grating drum, means for pressing food against said drum while the drum is rotating, power means for rotating said drum,4 a chute for catching and guiding to a discharge point the grated food, said chute having an arc-shaped perforated upper end arranged adjacent the lower part of said drum, and spring means for holding said perforated end adjacent said drum, said spring permitting said upper end to swing slightly away from said drum when a piece of food larger than said perforation moves into said upper end whereby said article of food will be moved upwardly and over the top of said drum so as to be subjected to a second grating action.

ALFRED KRTZ-` 

